


Liebster

by letsgooutintherain



Series: Liebe Means Love [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 09:19:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4386344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letsgooutintherain/pseuds/letsgooutintherain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ed brought a new insult back from the other world. Roy is not amused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Liebster

Sometimes Roy couldn't grasp just how lucky he was. He had his rank back. Ed was home in Amestris and working for him again.

And sometimes, Roy mused, just sometimes he wished he was back north. He had forgotten just how intense and annoying Ed could be. Resisting the urge to rub his temples he tried to make sense of the paperwork in front of him, while simultaneously keeping up an argument with his stupid, insolent and gorgeous subordinate.

"Fullmetal! These rules are there for a reason. I don't care that you wanted to finish the mission quickly. There are proper channels you have to go through if you deal with ambassadors!"

"So you propose I let him keep on smuggling electrum?"

"I propose you take the bureaucratic route instead of causing a political nightmare for me!"

"And how was I supposed to get evidence, without checking first?" Ed shot back.

Roy felt his patience wearing thin. It didn't help that the air between them seemed to crackle with tension. Tension that could easily snap into the wrong direction. Ed looked gorgeous when he was angry or passionate. 

And Ed would punch him if he knew what Roy was thinking.

"Oi, Liebster. Are you even listening?" Ed said. And then froze, just for a second, before glaring even harder.

Roy didn't know the word, but Ed said it like he said bastard. So he had brought back a new insult from that other world. From the sound of it, it was not a nice one.

"You might be small enough to overlook, but not to overhear, Fullmetal!" Roy allowed himself a smirk. A part of him hoped for Ed to explode, but the Edward that had come back didn't react as violently.

"You are an asshole," Ed said angrily, turned around and left.

"Fullmetal!" Roy called. He wasn't finished yet. But Ed didn't turn and Roy stared after him, not sure what exactly had just happened.

***

Two weeks. Only two weeks after that last incident and they were back to arguing. Roy didn't even know anymore how this one had started.

"What the hell do you think I am? A fucking dog?" 

Worse. This time they had a witness. Well an eyewitness rather than just earwitnesses outside of his office. Alphonse was there. 

"I outrank you, Fullmetal, that means if I tell you to do your job, then you don't argue the point. You go and do your job!"

"I would, if there weren't a hundred better ways to get that information!"

"Brother..." Al started, but stopped with a sigh when Ed met his gaze.

"Did it ever occur to you that getting that information is not the only point of your mission, Fullmetal?"

"Then why don't you fucking tell me the point, Liebster!" 

Al's head whipped around to Ed, eyes widening. Ed froze. 

"Brother! Why didn't you tell me?" Al asked.

"Kein Wort, Al!" Ed sounded desperate, "Er hat keine Ahnung." 

The words didn't make sense. Roy looked from one to the other. He had no idea what was going on.

Ed bowed his head till his bangs hid his eyes. "Es gab nichts zu sagen. Wir waren weit weg von zuhause. Und als wir hier waren..." he shrugged, "Diese Welt ist nicht viel toleranter. Was für einen Sinn hätte es gehabt?"

The language sounded strange to his ears. It had nothing of the musical flow of the eastern languages or the more temperamental sounds of the Cretan tongue. Roy wasn't sure what bothered him more. The fact that he had no idea what they were talking about or the way Ed sounded when he spoke. Defeated. 

"Liebst du ihn?" Al asked, changing into that strange tongue as well.

Ed nodded a curt nod. His whole body was hunched down. Roy decided that he had enough of this.

"Someone care to enlighten me?" he asked.

"None of your fucking business, Mustang," Ed said, "I'm doing your stupid mission." He looked at Al, "Let's go!"

"But brother..."

Ed just turned and strode out of the office and as always Roy couldn't tear his eye away. For once it wasn't because he liked the view.

"What is going on, Alphonse?"

Al looked from the door to Roy and back, his eyes sad. When he turned to Roy again, his gaze had hardened.

"What do you think of brother?" 

Roy felt pinned by the gaze. More than that. It was the gaze of someone who would take nothing but the whole truth as an answer.

"He is a good person," Roy stated carefully, "I have never met anyone with so much fire." 

Alphonse eyes narrowed.

"That's not what I wanted to know," Al said.

"In that case I can't answer your question," Roy replied. Whatever Al thought he knew was better than Roy telling him he was in love with Ed, who was fourteen years his junior. He was pretty sure Al would rip his head off.

"Do you like him?" Al didn't back down.

"Of course I do," Roy replied.

Al's gaze held him pinned. "Do you love him?"

Roy froze, before realising what he did. He forced himself to relax and gave Al a smile. "As much as I..."

Al cut him off. "I can see the look you send his way whenever you meet and he isn't looking. After his disappearance you holed yourself up in the north. I don't care about what society says or the military for that matter. I wont judge. All I want is for brother to be happy. So I want to know: Do you love him?"

Roy felt numb. He could lie now. He could tell Al that even though he deeply cared about Ed, he didn't love him. It was a lie, but if he did it the topic would be closed. 

Or he could confess. He was putting a lot on the line, but when Al said he wouldn't judge, then he wouldn't judge. He wouldn't go around telling everybody either. But what were the consequences? Why did he even want to know?

"And if I said yes?" Roy asked carefully, "Hypothetically? What would you do?"

Al smiled. The first smile since that damned argument had started. "Then I would tell you, hypothetically, of course, what Ed said."

"Why only then? And why would I want to know?"

"Hypothetically?" Al asked. 

Roy glared, but his heart was pounding. What the hell was he thinking?

"Stop the hypothetical and just tell me."

"Liebster means something akin to dearest or most beloved." Roy felt himself freeze again, his mind spinning aimlessly. He had thought it was an insult. The way Ed had said it had never been friendly. What... How...

Al stood up. "You will have to decide what you do with that information, but I promise you, if you hurt him intentionally, no scratch that, if you hurt him at all, then I will make sure you regret it." His warm smile contrasted his words. Roy suppressed a shudder. With or without the armor, Al could be more frightening than Riza.

And then Al was gone and Roy sat there, still frozen in shock. How had he missed that? And more important: What was he going to do about it? He was in love with Ed. But his position didn't allow for a relationship with another man. Another man under his command no less. 

If they tried where this might lead them... Even the thought send a warm feeling through him and he could feel a stupid grin creep on his face. 

But if they tried it, it would have to be a secret. The military could never know. Was that fair on Ed? What could he give Ed anyway? 

He sighed. It would have to be Ed's decision. He would tell him, lay his cards on the table and then they would see. 

Liebster. Most beloved. He started to like the sound of it.

**Author's Note:**

> For FMA 2003 appreciation week. Prompt: Relationships.  
> If anyone is interested in what Ed and Al are saying:
> 
> "Kein Wort, Al!" = Not a word, Al!  
> "Er hat keine Ahnung." = He has no idea.  
> "Es gab nichts zu sagen. Wir waren weit weg von zuhause. Und als wir hier waren..." = There was nothing to say. We were far from home. And when we came back...  
> "Diese Welt ist nicht viel toleranter. Was für einen Sinn hätte es gehabt?" = This world isn't any more tolerant. It wouldn't have made a difference, would it?  
> "Liebst du ihn?" = Do you love him?
> 
> All mistakes are my own.


End file.
